Dite's Decadent Delights, Thursday

[spin_kick_snap]

The weekend was still pretty present in Kathy's mind, certain parts playing on loop over and over in her brain. Sometimes they blended together, so Lady was shooting Eliot or Eliot was killing her father or Dante was throwing her off the tower. Sometimes she was the one holding the gun when it went off. Sometimes it was just all the different ways she'd been awful to the people she loves. Either way, it was fun times all around.

It would pass - it always passed, with time bringing closure or just new trauma - and until it did, Kathy knew the best thing to do was to keep her mind busy on other things. Today's distraction was learning a new song, trying to get it perfect. Sometimes she sang snatches of the lyrics, but they were pretty on the nose for what she was feeling. Instead, she mostly concentrated on getting her fingers to learn what to do, line by line.

Comments

Talk to Kathy

[spin_kick_snap]

She's willing to trade one distraction for another.

Re: Talk to Kathy

[that_oldsaying]

Was a phone call a good distraction?

Was it? Was it?

Because since she'd talked to Dante, Alluka had realized that, hey, just because she was on a trip of her own didn't mean she couldn't call people.

And of course she was going to call Kathy, now that that had occurred to her.

Ring, ring!

Re: Talk to Kathy

[spin_kick_snap]

It was! A phone call was a great distraction!

"Hello?" Kathy said. "Alluka? Hi, darling, is everything okay?"

Sorry, Alluka! Kathy was just in that mindset of 'OH GOD EVERYTHING IS ON FIRE.'

Re: Talk to Kathy

[that_oldsaying]

"Kathy! Hihihi! I--"

Alluka blinked as Kathy's question sunk in.

"Um, um, should everything not be okay?" she wondered, since that was an odd thing to ask right off. "Ringo and I are okay!"

They weren't even broke any longer!

Re: Talk to Kathy

[spin_kick_snap]

"That's wonderful!" Kathy said, relief obvious in her voice. "Sorry, it's just been crazy around here. Fandom was Fandom again over the weekend - " not to mention the whole debacle in Limbo City, which Kathy wasn't going to mention " - so I'm just a little prone to being worried. So tell me about your trip! Where are you two now?"

Re: Talk to Kathy

[that_oldsaying]

Oh. Fandom being Fandom meant… various things, but Kathy's reaction said it had probably been bad.

Alluka flopped back on her bed and kicked her legs out. "I love you, Kathy," she said earnestly. There wasn't anything else she could do to make Kathy feel better about whatever it was, but she could say that.

"And we're at Heaven's Arena right now! It's this super, super huge place where you have to win fights to go up floors and they've got hundreds of floors and if you win you also get lots of prize money! Ringo's got a match in a few hours, so I'm going to watch her! We got here by a blimp! It went over two continents! It was amazing!"

Re: Talk to Kathy

[spin_kick_snap]

"I love you, too, 'Luka," Kathy said, voice warm. This, at least, was a relationship she hadn't screwed up somehow. Raven and Alluka, best she got.

"So, a blimp? Over two continents? And Ringo is fighting?" Kathy was concerned again, but that was just because she remembered Crazy Apple. "Tell me everything about your trip! How's she doing? Is she okay, too?"

Re: Talk to Kathy

[that_oldsaying]

Alluka beamed at the warmth in Kathy's words and the nickname both. Dante and Kathy had both used it, now, and it made her feel fuzzy inside because of it.

"A really biiiiiiiiiiiiiig blimp!" For emphasis, she flung her free arm wide. "We couldn't afford plane tickets--they're super expensive here! Only really, really rich people use planes mostly! So we booked on a blimp and we got the economy seats and that meant we got to sleep in the hallway!"

Which... was really not a perk, but it had been an interesting novelty to Alluka.

"I liked it," she said, "though Ringo was all stiff the next morning! But she liked it too! And they had seats everywhere so you could always look out at the sky if you wanted! We couldn't go in the fancy lounges, but the seats were for everyone." And the fancy lounges had mostly sounded like places where people drank alcholol and that didn't interest her at all. "We got to watch the sun rise over a continent annnd--oh! Sorry, I forgot to answer your questions! Um, um, to stay in Heaven's Arena you've got to fight."

She was just going to hurry past that, though, since... Alluka was also staying in the Arena, with all that implied.

"But Ringo's fine! So far she's won most of her fights! And the ones she's lost, she didn't really get hurt--you can also lose if you wind up outside of the ring for longer than a count of ten. She's good, I promise, Kathy!"

Re: Talk to Kathy

[spin_kick_snap]

Best part was, Kathy didn't even know Dante had used the nickname, too. Maybe his tendency to nickname people was rubbing off on her.

"You stayed in a hallway?" Kathy asked, trying to go keep up. "And you got to the watch the sun rise--ohhh, I bet that was pretty! I've never gotten to see that! And now you're at the Arena? They let Ringo have a guest?"

That was a mighty big conclusion you were leaping to, Kathy.

Re: Talk to Kathy

[that_oldsaying]

"It was a really clean hallway," Alluka said earnestly, like that would be a comfort to Kathy. "With soft carpet! And I can send you pictures! And you can come visit with me another time! We can do a blimp so you can see everything too!"

Alluka hesitated a little before continuing with, "But we're at the Arena now and we've been here a few days. Um, people can have guests, but they can't stay in the Arena."

She just didn't want to worry Kathy, was the thing. Alluka was kind of terrible at fighting.

Re: Talk to Kathy

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy was going to close her eyes and count to ten. Then backwards from ten. Then to ten again. They were clearly fine and having an adventure. And that was important. Alluka needed room to grow and spread her wings and if that involved sleeping in a clean hallway and...

"I'd love to see your pictures," Kathy said. "You wanna send them to me, or meet up when you get back to the island so you can show me in person?"

She was going to circle back to the Arena and just where Alluka was staying in a second.

Re: Talk to Kathy

[that_oldsaying]

That... that silence was a little intimidating. She... she was going to ignore it.

That would work, right?

"Probably both," Alluka said happily, "because there's no way I can send all of them! But, um, hang on a second--"

She quickly sent Kathy a picture.

"That's the Arena! Look how tall it is, isn't that amazing?"

Re: Talk to Kathy

[rebelseekspizza]

"Hey," Dante said, shutting the door behind him.

His voice had a very clear semblance of its usual pep, but there wasn't as much heart behind it.

He did have a pizza box under his arm, though.

Re: Talk to Kathy

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy's fingers stilled on the strings, the last few notes - G, D, F#, she drilled into her head - still in the air. "Hey," she said quietly, the lack of heart as obvious as the fake pep. "Lunch?"

Re: Talk to Kathy

[rebelseekspizza]

"Lunch," Dante agreed, mouth quirking. "Thought we could sit outside, but you look kinda busy."

Re: Talk to Kathy

[spin_kick_snap]

"Just playing a new song," Kathy said, setting her guitar aside. "Nothing I can't pick up later."

It was Jason Mraz, it was maudlin, it was probably best to practice when no one was around to hear it just so she wouldn't be embarrassed to explain what it was and why it was on a constant repeat inside her head.

"Outside is good. You know, before the Cold Times are upon us." Her attempts at humor were as lacking as his attempts at pep, but hey. Points for trying?

Re: Talk to Kathy

[rebelseekspizza]

"I thought the Cold Times were all year for your Californian ass," Dante teased, leaning over to kiss her. Gently.

Re: Talk to Kathy

[spin_kick_snap]

"July and August border on acceptable," Kathy sniffed, their kiss short and sweet before she pulled back again. "When not particularly windy or rainy."

Re: Talk to Kathy

[rebelseekspizza]

"I'll let you hop in my lap if you get cold," Dante promised her, stepping away from the counter.

Re: Talk to Kathy

[spin_kick_snap]

"See, you say that now, but we'll see what happens when I bring my cold fingers and toes along with me," Kathy said, coming around the counter to join him on the other side. The wry smile she'd worn with her wisecrack turned into something softer and smaller and realer as she joined him; Limbo City and the move and everything else aside, it was nice to know that just seeing his stupidly handsome face could still make her smile.

Re: Talk to Kathy

[rebelseekspizza]

"You just keep those in your shoes and coat," Dante told her, striding back towards the door with pizza boxes in hand.

He pushed open it with his foot.

Re: Talk to Kathy

[spin_kick_snap]

"Ew, I don't wear shoes in the house because I wasn't raised a barbarian," Kathy sniffed, her head high as she went through the door, holding it open for him. And the pizza. "And wearing your coat in the house is house is what leads to pneumonia, everyone knows that."

Like running around outside with wet hair and nine million other random things.

Re: Talk to Kathy

[rebelseekspizza]

"Who the fuck came up with that?" Dante asked.

He picked a spot against the wall of the store and sat down on the ground.

Mod Your Shopping

[spin_kick_snap]

In case you didn't want to interrupt the concert.

Concert being used very loosely here, considering it was just one song, over and over.

OOC

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